The traditional tub or box of chocolates for Christmas just got more expensive as Nestle has announced that it is hiking prices. The move comes amid growing pressure on household budgets as the cost of living crisis continues to squeeze the purses of Brits.
It may be a non-essential item, but a chocolate treat will now cost you more and that could mean paying extra for the brand's top selling products such as After Eight, Quality Street, as well as favourites such as Smarties, KitKat, Aero, Toffee Crisp, Yorkie and Munchies.
Back in April 2022 steep cost inflation was reported to be blamed for potential price rises for the brand's cereals and confectionary. At the time, Mark Schneider, Nestlé CEO, said: "Cost inflation continues to increase sharply, which will require further pricing and mitigating actions over the course of the year."
It appears that we are now seeing the effects of rising inflation and other global factors.
Mark Schneider, was reported by MailOnline recently as saying: ‘Pricing will need to continue when it comes to the remainder of this year and next year as we’re still in catch-up mode towards repairing and restoring our gross margin.’
He added: "We maintained our responsible approach to pricing but further pricing steps were clearly needed to react to significant levels of global inflation hitting us".
In October, Nestle reported its nine-month sales for 2022. It stated that: "Organic growth reached 8.5%. Pricing was 7.5%, reflecting significant cost inflation. Real internal growth (RIG) was resilient at 1.0%. Organic growth was broad-based across most geographies and categories."
Talking about the 7.5% rise in prices during this time, Schneider said: "We delivered strong organic growth as we continued to adjust prices responsibly to reflect inflation. The challenging economic environment is a concern for many people and is impacting their purchasing power. That's why we aim to keep products affordable and accessible while considering the interests of all our stakeholders.
Last month, Nestle revealed changes to its Quality Street packaging, stating that the iconic shiny wrappers in its sweet selection would be turning to paper wrappers with a view to being more sustainable. Fans soon made their feelings known on the topic with one person even claiming 'Christmas is ruined'.
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